Kingdom Hearts BBS: Girl of Steel Part 3: Age of Aqua
by TheFirstTrio
Summary: Johann has been beaten, but Aqua and the gang still cannot rest as Aqua struggles to control her powers, facing new inner demons, and face her new role as the Final Harbinger. Aqua knows her life has forever changed, but can she stay the course or will she go astray?


**CHAPTER ONE: THE NIGHT BEFORE THE DAWN**

It had been two days since the final battle against Johann and the defeat of all the former Harbingers. It had been a massive battle that had cost so much: so many cities destroyed, so many people killed, and so much tragedy. All of the heroes had suffered as well. Ventus, Galuf, and Riku where all dead; all of the remaining heroes scarred from the battle. Everyone had returned home to start rebuilding their lives and the worlds that had been affected.

Everyone had suffered. But the one who had suffered the most was Aqua. As such, while everyone was able to drift into an uneasy sleep at Land of Departure's castle, the new Final Harbinger—a title she still didn't want to carry, but had not choice now—was unable to sleep. She tossed and turned; her dreams weren't peaceful, but full of nightmares and pain. She saw Johann and Ventus…she saw her little brother dying over and over again, listening to Johann's insane laughter, seeing his horrible, bone chilling smile as he killed Ventus.

A heavy sigh escaped Aqua's lips for what felt like the thousandth time tonight, who was currently dressed in a black night gown that was solid, but revealing some of her breasts. Glancing at the clock, Aqua cringed slightly when she saw it was one a.m. in the morning. This would be the second night in a row she was likely to only get three hours of sleep, none of which was really restful. She didn't have bags under her eyes yet, but she knew she couldn't keep lying about her sleeping—or lack thereof—forever to her loved ones.

Glancing to her right before rolling onto her right side, Aqua's eyes landed on the slumbering form of her lover. Terra was out like a light, snoring blissfully away. It wasn't very loud snoring; otherwise, Aqua would have killed Terra for waking up Isaac. She smiled slightly, but resisted the urge to hold onto him. She was much too restless and he deserved to have sleep.

Aqua rolled onto her left now, looking to her baby. The small child was currently in a light red, warm onesie, with a single blanket on him to keep him warm. He cooed in his sleep, making Aqua smile once again and causing her to think, _'I wonder what he is dreaming about…'_ He looked so perfect and peaceful, content and happy with his life. Aqua was happy as well, being able to fully care for him once again, including breast feeding, something that she originally feared she would have lost due to the extreme experience with the Harbingers. Thankfully, she had been lucky and she was able to continue that part of motherhood.

But soon, Aqua felt the smile run away from her face as her mind came back to her original problem. Aqua snorted slightly as she thought sourly, more correctly of her situation, _'Well, scratch that. My many problems…'_ Sitting up slowly, Aqua silently slid out of bed, to ensure that Terra and Isaac could continue to sleep peacefully. They certainly deserved that at least.

But Aqua couldn't sleep because her mind wouldn't shut off and also because her body was constantly brimming with power that screamed to be released. Her mind raced between pointless thoughts to ideas about new techniques and to the what-ifs; it jumped to her own fears and self-doubts as well.

Would she be able to control herself and her powers? Would she be a better Final Harbinger than Johann or would she fallen into the dark void that he had? Could Aqua trust Stephen Black, the Harbinger who, while now wanting to help her, had helped Johann? He had been Johann's best friend and the only thing Johann seemed to care about in the universe besides his own sick goals.

Aqua was afraid of herself. She was afraid of herself and the power she now had, as well as the overwhelming responsibility that she had. Her power could destroy the ones she loved around her and she'd live with her pain forever, being immortal.

Aqua began to shuffle out of the room, her bare feet slapping against the wooden floors slightly as she walked. Her body quivered slightly as her power pulsed through her form, through her very veins. Aqua quickly fought back this feeling, getting herself back to her more even keel.

Opening the door of the bedroom, Aqua stepped outside of the room and closed the door, thinking, _'Great…I am having problems controlling my powers. And I am so hungry!'_ Her belly rumbled as she thought this, prompting Aqua to head down the dark hallways, heading towards the kitchen to sate her belly.

'_Darlin', you have so much power now that ya gotta take in s'more food,'_ Dark Aqua replied to Aqua, trying to reason with and remind her why it was that way. It was like having fuel for a bonfire: the bigger the fire, the more fuel it needed to continue to burn at the same intensity.

Aqua didn't reply immediately to her counterpart, but Dark Aqua knew what she was thinking long before the Final Harbinger replied. Biting at her lower lip and placing a hand over her sternum as she walked, Aqua grumbled, _'But I feel like a __**pig.**__ I'm eating more than Terra does!'_

'_Oh, don't ya worry your pretty head, prissy! It'll all go to your booty and boobies.'_

Aqua turned a fiery red color due to her inner self's words, reflexively covering her chest as she sputtered back, _'Th-that's __**not**__ helping me feel b-better!'_ Her dark self certainly had a way with words; this time, Aqua didn't mean it in a positive manner. Aqua wished that she wasn't so witty with words.

'_Sowwy!'_ Dark Aqua mockingly replied in a childish manner, firmly letting Aqua know that she wasn't sorry in the slightest for what she had said. Before Aqua could chastise Dark Aqua, her belly reminded her noisily of the bluenette's original objective. Aqua blushed even more as Dark Aqua giggled in delight.

Reaching the kitchen quickly, Aqua flicked on the lights of the room. Yes, Aqua could see very well in the dark, but the light was more convenient and comforting. Aqua then made her way over to the refrigerator, grabbing a loaf of butter bread and a single, ripe tomato on the way over to the refrigerator.

Placing the bread on the counter top to the left of the refrigerator, Aqua pulled the door of the appliance open to look for toppings on a sandwich. Quickly locating some thinly sliced roasted turkey, Aqua pulled the package of meat out along with mustard, lettuce, and mayo. The Keyblade Master pulled each item out and placed them on the counter top, glass containers of condiments clattering against the granite.

After gathering her ingredients, Aqua moved to grab a plate so she could assemble her meal, along with the knife needed to cut up her lettuce and tomato; the mustard and mayo were both in squeeze bottles, thankfully. Aqua created her meal in record time, resulting in a sandwich far more fit for Terra than for herself; nearly four times the normal amount, loaded down to the gills with turkey more than anything else. Aqua looked at the sandwich with a mixture of hunger and shame, but wordlessly took the time to put up the items she had gotten out for the sandwich and place the knife in the sink. Her stomach protested vigorously as Aqua did these things.

Once Aqua had cleaned her mess, she found herself munching happily on her sandwich. As expected, it tasted very good, Aqua working overtime to savor her food rather than devour it greedily. She chewed more slowly in order to accomplish the task of savoring.

But soon, she found her sandwich half gone, much to her dismay and disappointment. Even going slowly, Aqua felt like she was stuffing herself. But she knew that this was the norm from here on out. It was reality and Aqua couldn't deny that reality, no matter how much she closed her eyes and wished.

"Well, someone's hungry."

Caught off-guard, Aqua nearly came out of her skin at the sound of that familiar voice. She jumped, nearly losing her sandwich, which she fumbled briefly with to keep in her grasp. Her steel grip kept her food without shattering her plate. The Final Harbinger spent a moment slowing down her heart and gathering herself, not fully sure if she was ready to face the owner of the voice.

Turning, Aqua found herself facing the only original Harbinger left, Stephen Black. The man was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and light blue pajama pants, a charming smile on his face that threatened to almost make Aqua relax and disarm her tense stance.

Almost.

"You surprised me," Aqua said in a very neutral tone as she looked at the still powerful Harbinger. While she was leagues above him in power, she dared not to take him lightly, especially after Terra had told her about his fight with Stephen. Even with the little she knew from Terra, she knew a formidable warrior when she saw one.

Stephen, for his part, didn't miss the vibe coming from Aqua. It was painfully obvious to him. A frown replaced the smile he had been wearing, but only for a moment before he smiled once again. Speaking, Stephen flatly said to Aqua, "You know, if I make you so uncomfortable, you _can_ make me leave. Dismiss me and I can be out of your life forever."

This was something that Aqua knew to be true. She _could_ very easily remove the source of unease by dismissing Stephen. Yes, Terra had taken a liking to the man, but he was a lingering reminder of the terror that Johann had been to her, her family, and her friends. What reason did she have to allow Stephen to stay around?

But Aqua knew the answer to that, even as she placed her sandwich on the countertop. It was the very same reason why she had given people _so_ many chances, no matter how much they had hurt her or failed, no matter how evil they could be. Aqua's expression softened into a mixture of sadness and amusement as she sighed; sadness at the topic and amusement at her own answer.

"You're right, Stephen," Aqua finally said to the smaller man, making the Light Harbinger blink a few times as he listened to his new leader. "I could make you leave. I could save myself a lot of pain, maybe, by doing so…" Aqua laughed a bit, finding her own reasoning to be laughable. "But…"

Aqua trailed off, trying to find reasoning on her own madness, unaware her left eye was starting to glow more brightly, while her scarlea turned black. Stephen spotted this, but said nothing yet, electing to continue the conversation by asking, "But what?" He wanted to know what made Aqua tick, to better understand her.

"That's taking the easy way out."

It was a shocking answer, one that made Stephen's eyes go wide as he quickly processed the full depth of that short answer. Quickly gaining that deeper understanding of what Aqua had said, Stephen knew he really only needed to look at her past and her personality type to gain his answer versus mulling it over. Recovering from his shock, Stephen responded with, "I see. You have a near suicidal desire to see the best in people and give them chance after chance. Is that why you don't let me leave? And surely, is it the same reason why you gave Terra so many chances, even after he hurt you so much?"

Flinching at the all-too-accurate observation, Aqua looked away as she replied, "I forgot how observant you are. I _love_ Terra. That's why I kept forgiving him, even when he called me terrible things, helped kill our Master…I didn't want to give up on him or anyone. People gave up on me when I was a child. I couldn't…I_ wouldn't_ do that to others." Despite staring to feel more and more uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation, Aqua didn't stop it, either. She was the one who had opened this can of worms, after all.

Chuckling, Stephen said, "Well, one learns to become observant after becoming a Harbinger." He had learned this lesson painfully after he had been recruited by Johann as a Harbinger. Stephen could recall that day in detail; it was a dark day. But quickly moving from his past Stephen then commented, "But I am impressed by your ability to forgive." Aqua smiled a bit at this, but she quickly beat back any joy. She didn't want to warm up to Stephen. She couldn't trust him yet.

"Why do you want to stay, Stephen? Aside from still serving, you don't have any real reason to stay," Aqua inquired of the Light Harbinger, wondering what her subordinate was thinking.

Suddenly, Aqua froze. Stephen didn't miss the sudden changing in Aqua's expression, with mounting horror crawling itself onto Aqua's face. Saving his answer to Aqua's question, Stephen instead asked, "What's wrong, Aqua?"

'_My…subordinate? No, no, no, no, no! He's not! What am I thinking?'_ Aqua thought as she let out a shaky breath, trying to calm herself down. She couldn't possibly be thinking like this! Even if she trusted Stephen, she'd never call him a 'subordinate.' In order to avoid to prevent Stephen from prying, Aqua basically ordered, "Answer the question."

Stephen knew that she wasn't going to tell him, so he did as she asked. Why make her even more upset than she was already going to get? He needed to tread lightly, after all. So, with a shake of his head, Stephen replied, "Because you need all the help you can get." Ignoring the darkening expression of anger on Aqua's face, he said, "I suppose this is my way of redeeming myself." There was a pause before he stated to Aqua, "And don't say you don't need help."

Recoiling, the anger that had been building—a common thing lately, Aqua drily noted—vanished as a confused and surprised expression appeared on Aqua's face. Not understanding what Stephen meant as he looked at her expectantly, Aqua asked, "What?"

"You're having trouble right now managing your powers and your Stage II transformation," Stephen replied as he gestured at Aqua, who opened her mouth to reply. Stephen cut her off, however, concluding, "You only need to look in a mirror for my point to be proven."

Further confusing by Stephen's answer, Aqua, forgetting about her food for now, was quick to head to nearest bathroom and quickly at that. Heading out of the kitchen and down the hallway she had traversed to reach the kitchen, Aqua's destination was the guest bedroom. Stephen didn't follow her, glancing at her sandwich for a moment. A sigh escaped his lips as he thought, _'She's going to need all the help she can get. She can't do this alone.'_

Meanwhile, Aqua had arrived at the guest bedroom. Opening the door and going inside before hanging a left and bee lining for the restroom. The whole time, Aqua was thinking, _'I know I am having problems with my powers, but does it show that bad?'_ As Aqua walked into the bathroom and by the time she had flicked on the bathroom light, she had already seen the source of her problem. It caused her heart to skip a few beats and Aqua to come to an immediate halt.

After all, a brightly glowing eye was extremely difficult to miss in the darkness with a nearby wall mirror.

"My eye…" Aqua said softly as she slowly reached up to her left eye, the glowing orb standing out against the black background. No wonder Stephen had noticed so easily. Aqua realized it must have changed during their conversation; Stephen must have noticed instantly, but he was likely waiting to see if she had even _felt _the change in her body.

Aqua was quick to change her eye back to normal, the black fading and the glowing disappearing. After making sure she didn't look off, Aqua left the bathroom, turning off the light as she left. Soon, she was back the hallway leading to the kitchen, looking down the hallway itself. She knew Stephen was waiting for her return, but Aqua found herself unwilling to return.

'_He knows so much 'bout us darlin','_ Dark Aqua interjected softly, catching Aqua off-guard and making her jump some. Her dark side had been completely silent up until now. Dark Aqua wasn't fazed as she boldly said, _'Maybe he and Terra-Bear can help us together!'_

'_I don't care if he knows a lot about us because he is good at guessing,'_ Aqua stubbornly replied to her darker self. She didn't want to let Stephen into the recesses of her personal life. _'I don't want his help.'_

Dark Aqua, slightly exasperated, began to protest, _'But darlin'…'_ She was trying to reason with Aqua, trying to get Aqua to see the reason. However, Aqua remained stubborn, replying angrily, _'No! I don't care! He was Johann's best friend! He…he doesn't deserve a chance to help me. I can do this on my own.'_

This finally set Dark Aqua off.

'_**NO! YOU CAN'T!"**_ Dark Aqua screamed out in absolute anger, explosively unloading onto Aqua. Grabbing at the sides of her head in pain, Aqua groaned in agony, "Nnnnngghhh!"

'_**You're not thinkin' straight, goddamn it! Cuz you're so powerful 'n shit, always havin' to deal with everythin' alone for so long that you've gotten to independent!'**_ Dark Aqua ranted, making Aqua cringe at her blatant accusations. Each word sliced right into Aqua's heart, feeling the anger and truth behind those words. Continuing her rant, Dark Aqua's voice softened as hiccups broke her words up, _'I lo-love you t-too much t' see ya just close up. You 'aven't even asked Terra-Bear fer help and he's been wantin' to see you happy again. Why are you actin' so…cold?'_

Another searing jab to Aqua's heart, this one making Aqua visibly stiffen as her eyes went wide. Then, Aqua closed her eyes, trying to avoid the tears that wanted to fall and a hand went over her chest. Aqua whimpered pitifully, "I'm sorry. I'm just…I'm so scared. What if I fall Terra and hurt him? What if I open my heart to Stephen and he hurts me?"

Before Dark Aqua could answer her, Aqua heard footsteps, prompting her to open her eyes and look in the direction of the footsteps. It didn't surprise her to see Stephen standing before her, holding her plate of food in his right hand. Looking at her food before she looked into Stephen eyes, Aqua furiously blinked away stray tears as she managed to choke out softly, "Hey…"

Stephen didn't run her down for nearly crying and looking absolutely weak right now like Aqua was afraid off. Instead, he smiled softly and said, "Those are legit fears, Aqua. Fear is a powerful thing and it can affect even the bravest and mightiest of people." It was clear he had overheard Aqua 'talking' to herself, until he said with a knowing smile, "Tell Dark Aqua I said hello, however."

'_Buh! He knows? G'damn, this guy is good!'_ Dark Aqua muttered in a mixture of embarrassment and pride, enjoying being acknowledged by another being. After all, Dark Aqua wasn't shy in admitting she wanted everyone to know she existed!

Stephen then said, "But I am not asking you to be my friend or let me be your friend. If that never happened, I would understand completely." He paused as he neared Aqua, getting a bit closer as he offered, "I am asking you allow us to help. Your husband, yourself, your friends." He wanted to help this new, inexperienced Final Harbinger never become like his friend had. He had failed his friend; by that extension, he had failed the universe. He couldn't allow Aqua to become like Johann had been in those last twenty years.

Aqua saw the desire in Stephen's eyes. Without a doubt, Aqua knew Terra wanted to help even more than Stephen, but wasn't sure how to go about it. She knew her friends wanted to ease her burdens, even if she fought back and continued to try and shoulder it all by herself. But she knew it wasn't going to be easy to change or to help her.

But she wanted them to try so badly.

Rather suddenly, Aqua asked in a timid manner, "Did…Johann have problems controlling his powers?" She wanted to know if she was inferior to her predecessor. It scared her to death to think she was weaker mentally than Johann.

Stephen answered honestly; the answer caused Aqua's shoulders to slump in disappoint as her face matched the feeling of crushed hoped she had. "Not until the end. For a long time, he was the poster child of controlling one's power. For a long time, he was—well, that's for another day, if you want to hear it. You have more important things to do, starting off with finishing your food!" Offering Aqua's sandwich back to her, he then reassured, "But don't compare yourself to Johann. It's just silly to de-valuing yourself that way, by comparing apples to oranges. You're not weaker than Johann and he honestly wouldn't have picked you."

There was silence as Aqua merely nodded to the Light Harbinger. There wasn't much else for her or Stephen to say to one another. Taking her sandwich, Aqua began to munch on it in silence, enjoying the flavor. She didn't look at anything in particular as she ate, but tomorrow, she knew what to do. She had to start taking her role as the Final Harbinger seriously and figure out what she had to do.

But first, as she finished her meal, Aqua had one last thing to say to Stephen. He watched as she opened her mouth for a moment before gritting her teeth a bit, like she was struggling with herself. Finally, Aqua spoke, surprising him once again.

"…I…I'd like you to help me."

Stephen smiled at this and replied, "Of course. I'll do what I can and so will everyone else. Remember, you're never alone, Aqua. People are here for you. And you know, the strongest people are not those that win in front of us, but those who win battles we know nothing about." Aqua smiled brightly at this, unable to stop herself. Stephen, seeing his words were working, then said, "This will make you so much stronger in the end. The path will be hard…but you're more than ready."

For Aqua, that was a good way to conclude the conversation. She nodded and said, "Thank you. I'm sorry for treating you so badly. I'll do my best to be better to you and stop acting so harsh to you." She moved over and gently hugged the man, who was clearly taken off-guard by it before Stephen smile softly and retuned the hug. Moving away from Stephen, Aqua then said, "Goodnight, Stephen."

Nodding back, Stephen replied, "Goodnight, Aqua." Taking Aqua's plate from her, Stephen bowed before heading back to the kitchen. Aqua watched him as he disappeared into the room before she turned and started heading back to her and Terra's room.

She knew it was time to feed her baby, but she was ready, of course. Aqua knew today was likely the start of something new and foreign, something she hadn't clue how it would end.

But Aqua was ready. She was ready to keep being the girl of steel.


End file.
